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Topic Review (Newest First)

03-11-2013 01:45 AM

Couesfanatic

This thread is old guys. Those of you who are giving pricing advice should know this.

03-11-2013 01:32 AM

Smitty06

In my opinion, the price is not that bad for an ADA tank if you factor in how low iron the glass is, the silicon work, and even a little for the brand name and satisfaction of saying, "I have an ADA tank."

03-08-2013 02:30 PM

DefStatic

My only problem is tank prices. At the same time, I would be wary of trying anything cheap, wondering if they are cheaper because they are poorly made or cheaper because they found a way to just do it cheaper.

Then again, if Audi's and BMW's were as cheap as Hyundai's, everyone would probably own one LOL

03-08-2013 02:20 AM

Kinection

This might help, my estimated cost for this shrimp setup will cost 130-175$
Rimless 7.5G cube (Looks like mr aqua) 35$ (after tax)
Finnex FugeRay 12" (Amazon) 44$
2 Bags of UP shrimp sand 40$
Plants (Carpet plants/background) 25$
Dual Sponge filter 2$
Old Air pump from 75G (Costed 15$)
That is about $161, I still need to get 10 CRS for about 30$.
Good luck!

03-07-2013 11:58 PM

Milkman

I recently set up a planted 5 gallon tank. Only cost me £50 which is about $75 for you. However, I already owned a spare tank, heater and rocks. The costs only included the plants, substrate, new lights etc. If you factor everything else in, it costed me about £153 which is about $230

I'm just going to add this small tidbit in about ADA prices in regards to some items.

Well put.

Some of the items, such as glassware and tools, are all handmade, and subject to extremely limited availability, even as a distributor. A lot of the specialty glassware only has a certain amount made per month, so if say we're talking about Cabochon Ruby, and if the craftsman can only make 50 Cabochon Rubies each month, then there's only going to be 50 for the whole world, including the three largest markets; Japan, China and India.

So for us in the States, on most of these items it requires a three month reservation on my part to obtain most of the glassware and tools. And we're not talking huge quantities here - we're talking 3 or 4 Cabochon Ruby's. So even in the case of cost for an item like that, we could throw as much money as we wanted at it, but it still wouldn't change that we can only get a hold of 3 or 4 at a time for the entire US.

In the end, you're talking about a very difficult item to make, to the quality it's made at, with expensive materials, expensive labor (Japanese labor for the most of the glassware, Super Jet, etc), and long time lines for a very limited world wide quantity.

You'd be surprised how many times even the seemingly simpler to make glassware, such as Pollen Glass Beetle 50, is just not available even at the source. It's not totally uncommon for there to be a good 4-5 month wait list on the most exclusive specialty items. The core of it all is, the manufacturing / crafting time is the same as it was in 2004, and demand is 10x higher than it was in 2004, with a saturated Japanese market and a rapidly expanding Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese and European market. Speaking of Cabochon Ruby, it took me two years to get one (well, mostly because I put my customers first in line), and I freakin import the stuff. 70 bucks is cheap for that when you think about it from that perspective anyway.

So in a way, I can see how elitism comes into play a little bit here. We're talking about items where there might be only 20 of them in the whole USA for an entire year, or something that 0.00000006% of the population owns.

Very cool insight from the internal workings of ADA.

03-07-2013 10:13 PM

Francis Xavier

I'm just going to add this small tidbit in about ADA prices in regards to some items.

Some of the items, such as glassware and tools, are all handmade, and subject to extremely limited availability, even as a distributor. A lot of the specialty glassware only has a certain amount made per month, so if say we're talking about Cabochon Ruby, and if the craftsman can only make 50 Cabochon Rubies each month, then there's only going to be 50 for the whole world, including the three largest markets; Japan, China and India.

So for us in the States, on most of these items it requires a three month reservation on my part to obtain most of the glassware and tools. And we're not talking huge quantities here - we're talking 3 or 4 Cabochon Ruby's. So even in the case of cost for an item like that, we could throw as much money as we wanted at it, but it still wouldn't change that we can only get a hold of 3 or 4 at a time for the entire US.

In the end, you're talking about a very difficult item to make, to the quality it's made at, with expensive materials, expensive labor (Japanese labor for the most of the glassware, Super Jet, etc), and long time lines for a very limited world wide quantity.

You'd be surprised how many times even the seemingly simpler to make glassware, such as Pollen Glass Beetle 50, is just not available even at the source. It's not totally uncommon for there to be a good 4-5 month wait list on the most exclusive specialty items. The core of it all is, the manufacturing / crafting time is the same as it was in 2004, and demand is 10x higher than it was in 2004, with a saturated Japanese market and a rapidly expanding Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese and European market. Speaking of Cabochon Ruby, it took me two years to get one (well, mostly because I put my customers first in line), and I freakin import the stuff. 70 bucks is cheap for that when you think about it from that perspective anyway.

So in a way, I can see how elitism comes into play a little bit here. We're talking about items where there might be only 20 of them in the whole USA for an entire year, or something that 0.00000006% of the population owns.

03-07-2013 09:58 PM

bluestems

it's the ol' form vs function debate.

Everyone needs function, but some want more artistic form. And what one considers Art is personal.

03-07-2013 04:00 PM

Smitty06

I don't think you understand the point everyone is pointing out. When you are passionate about the hobby, you want the best. For an ADA 45P, my lfs sells them for $89 so I have no problem dropping some money on a tank that nice. Simple truth is that ADA Aquasoil is the best out there right now, and it only costs twice as much as eco- complete. Sure with some of ADA's products their name raises the price some, but not like most things with big names. Comparing DBP and ADA is laughable. DBP has nice tanks but they are rimed, rimless tanks are just nice looking than a rimmed tank, so rimless has more aesthetic value. If you were to have a tank made with low iron glass locally, it would be around the same price, slightly less because the silicon job won't be as nice, and the low iron glass won't be as low iron as ADA, IME. If you want to rant on people that are worse, then go to the shrimp forum where they are paying 50 dollars a shrimp ( some even way more than that).

03-07-2013 03:12 PM

Calmia22

I have to disagree with a lot of people. I have a high tech 75g that I have spent just over $700.00 on. The tank and stand came used, but everything else was new. That includes two high end canister filters, and a pressurized co2 setup. If you shop around you can get exactly what you are looking for at a good price.

As for lighting: If you can hang a light then check out Aquaponics stores. I am going to be getting a new light soon for $140 for my 75g. It's a 4 bulb system with awesome reflectors, then I can sell my other light. They have 2-4 bulb systems that will fit well above a 10g and they are usually under $50 at my local shop. They are also T5 setups.

Sure, you can go with no-name rimless tanks, but the reality remains that ADA had unrivaled quality and honestly, it's sometimes about the name. Why go with American Eagle or Aeropostale when you can get Polo or J Crew?

People prob laugh at me, but I have spent a small fortune on Lacoste polos LOL. With that said, I only buy them when they are on sale. I do not think most of them are worth the $90 price tag (a few I would still have paid full price LOL) but 20% or more off, sure.

03-07-2013 02:58 PM

DefStatic

I guess it comes back to what you can afford and where you come from too. I have always been a middle of the road kind of guy. I don't buy the cheapest, but I also refuse in most cases to buy the most expensive. Some people throw money to the wind, some bargain hunt.

From what I know though, I don't think anyone buying the most expensive stuff for their tank setups is wasting money. In fact, my only major complaint is the ADA tanks. But do they look amazing? Sure do. I just have never seen, and probably never will, a real side by side comparison of a lot of this stuff.

Seems like reputation is king too. Everyone knows what is cheap, what is middle, and what is top of the line.

And that goes for a lot of things. Someone might build up their vehicle for speed and spend $1000 on something that may only gain them 1HP, and people would probably scratch their head at them LOL.

I considered an ADA tank I saw for sale on here. Even used it was still the same price as a Schruber Wright (sp?) or Aquatop LOL. But I would have taken it, just never heard back from the person.

I have never understood the necessity of an EHEIM on anythng under 20 gallons.

And lighting, while important on a planted tank, is not as centrally important as on a reef tank.

If you are putting that much money into a planted tank, then go reef.

Frankly, on a smaller tank ... some of the one in all sets are good.

Sure, you can go with no-name rimless tanks, but the reality remains that ADA had unrivaled quality and honestly, it's sometimes about the name. Why go with American Eagle or Aeropostale when you can get Polo or J Crew?

And about the reef statement... what relevance does that hold? The type of your tank has nothing to do with the price tag, that only has to do with the quality.

Some of us are, admittedly, elititists. We're obsessed with only getting the highest quality products we can. Although some of the kits are nice (one of my first tanks was an Ebi), they're simply not the best.

That's all there is to it. Preference. There's no need to try to convert an ADA snob to become a low tech budgeted aquarist (not that there's anything wrong with that, as that's how I and many other people started), and vice-versa.

The only brand that comes close to ADA, is ELOS (look them up if you really want to seem some pricey stuff), so it isn't even possible to compare. Rimmed tanks are also a different matter, that is like a tube TV to a HD flat screen.

I like to reward the innovators.

What are you comparing to? You have substrate listed as $20, a 9L bag of Aquasoil is $30, you can use a 3L bag on a nano, only $14.
Sure most pay higher for shipping but not much.

What does that have to do with anything? Why can't freshwater enthusiast's enjoy quality innovative equipment too? Why is that limited to reefers? Why do they get all the cool new toys it seems ?

Maybe it is because alot of freshwater (American) hobbyist are stuck in the mentality to buy the cheapest thing that works.

You see, once someone has been in this hobby for sometime they no longer think of their tank as just a "fish tank" anymore, they don't mind spending the money for nice equipment, display size does not matter anymore in relation to amount spent. Well at least those who are serious about this do.

The only brand that comes close to ADA, is ELOS (look them up if you really want to seem some pricey stuff), so it isn't even possible to compare. Rimmed tanks are also a different matter, that is like a tube TV to a HD flat screen.

What does that have to do with anything? Why can't freshwater enthusiast's enjoy quality innovative equipment too? Why is that limited to reefers? Why do they get all the cool new toys it seems ?

Maybe it is because alot of freshwater (American) hobbyist are stuck in the mentality to buy the cheapest thing that works.

You see, once someone has been in this hobby for sometime they no longer think of their tank as just a "fish tank" anymore, they don't mind spending the money for nice equipment, display size does not matter anymore in relation to amount spent. Well at least those who are serious about this do.

What a lot of you are missing is that the price does not matter. We are concerned with aesthetics. We are willing to pay a few extra dollars to get the best. Why get a good looking/functional tank and equipment when we can have the best looking/functional tank and equipment available.

You may be ok with the all in one kits, but I despise those ugly cheap things.

Ditto.

Like someone once said; "We are too poor to afford cheap things".

03-07-2013 06:57 AM

Couesfanatic

I see the need to go ADA. I've seen those aquatop tanks, they are not as nice and clean looking as ADA.

An eheim 2211 is the best filter there is in its size.

What a lot of you are missing is that the price does not matter. We are concerned with aesthetics. We are willing to pay a few extra dollars to get the best. Why get a good looking/functional tank and equipment when we can have the best looking/functional tank and equipment available.

You may be ok with the all in one kits, but I despise those ugly cheap things.

Like the genius just said, it's a matter of preference. I prefer to have the nicest nano available.

If I wanted a reef I would do a reef, but I don't want a reef.

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